


like waves

by itsgameover



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, M/M, Polyamory, Summer Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:40:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24726895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsgameover/pseuds/itsgameover
Summary: ...washing away the footprints on the sand, there is no past, no future, just us against dawn.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Kim Jongdae | Chen/Kim Minseok | Xiumin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 43
Collections: Round 4: Spring and Summer





	like waves

**Author's Note:**

> **Written for Exo Seasonal Fest Round 4: Spring-Summer**  
>  Blossom: #2  
> Summer holidays are but a fever dream in this pandemic ridden world. As I freeze my hands off typing in my keyboard, dreaming of a summer vacation has fueled the aesthetic of this fanfic.  
> If you, like me, are quarantined and vicariously living through fanfiction, hope this fic can fill your heart with beautiful summer breeze.  
> Thank you to the mods for your endless kindness and to my betas m&m for being the real mvps and giving me sweet sweet feedback. Also! Big thanks to the prompter, you are a trooper!  
> 

⊱ ───────── 《∘◦🔥◦∘》 ──────── ⊰

The summer sun is slowly setting, the earth preens under the colours of the sunset. Calm orange, pastel pink, fiery red, mellow yellow, a beautiful palette. An artist would see a painting in the way the sun falls far away into the sea, in the waves slowly taking over the beach as the sky changes colors. Jongdae only sees some relief to his pounding headache.

The soft breeze raising from the sea messes with his unruly brown curls and makes his swimsuit cling more tightly to his body. He lets the sea lick his feet, the sand clinging to his toes and breathes deeply, inhaling the familiar smells of salt, wind and well deserved vacations. There is something so soothing about the endless water, about a place so deep and broad that no one knows it entirely. It feels like standing in front of an ancient creature, a leviathan that knows the secrets of all creation. Jongdae smiles. 

“Hey” Baekhyun yells “you coming or what?” Jongdae sighs but turns around, walking towards his friend with unsteady feet, an entire day in the beach does that to you. 

His legs are a little bit wobbly but once he is side to side with Baekhyun he proposes a race to the cabin and starts to run before his friend can process the challenge. They run up the steep wooden staircase and arrive to the door breathless, dropping to their knees on the top step, pushing each other and laughing like kids. 

“I won, you owe me” Jongdae says, sitting up. Baekhyun raises an eyebrow, chest raising and falling rhythmically, it gives Jongdae some unruly ideas. 

“And what do I owe you, captain cheater?” Baekhyun cocks his head to the side and while his words are sassy he says them with that flirty tone that only he possesses. 

Jongdae shrugs, thinking of what he could ask but before he can say a thing, Baekhyun grabs his face by the chin and presses their lips together, smiling into the kiss. It’s not the first time they have done this, noticeable by the ease with which their lips meet, but it’s still shocking nonetheless.

“That’s it”, the smiling devil says as they part. “We are even now”

“Hey dumbasses!” Minseok steps through the threshold of the house, navy blue hawaiian shirt with pink flowers, sunglasses on and black hair styled up “come on, shower so we can go out to the town. Sehun wants a piña colada and I don’t know how to do that”

Jongdae’s face is burning, heating up a little bit more each passing second, but Baekhyun is smiling, a glint of mischief in his droopy eyes, and gets up quickly, running past Minseok and straight into the bathroom. Minseok shakes his head and clicks his tongue, but otherwise makes no comment on the situation he encounters. 

‘Better that way’ Jongdae thinks as he showers, consciously scrubbing the sand off his body. Why would it be necessary to make such a fuss out of that? It’s just two dudes getting a little bit handsy after a long day bathing in the sun. Ok that is kind of strange. But relationships are weird and so are the humans Jongdae encounters in his life. 

Originally, this whole thing was supposed to be a holiday for nine. All of them, the old gang back together after years of mismatched schedules, failed BBQ parties and half empty tables at birthday parties. But, as it turns out, schedules didn’t match at all now either, to nobody’s surprise.

Jongin got called for a photoshoot in Milan three days before their flight and, in his own words, ‘you don’t say no to Gucci’. Kyungsoo’s schedule suddenly filled out and he was busy four out of the five days of the holiday. Yixing was sick and Junmyeon, being the caring husband that he is, wouldn’t leave his baby alone. 

With the fallen soldiers back in home, or over at Milan, that left only a small battalion standing:Minseok, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Sehun and Jongdae. Which wasn’t bad, really, Jongdae loves them to death, but… there is always a but. Sometimes Chanyeol and Sehun are too… couple-y and that kind of couple that makes you want to drown in a cup of salt because how can two people be so goddamn sugary? Not even Junmyeon and Yixing acted like that when they were newlyweds and they were disgusting as well. 

Besides, Jongdae had all sorts of plans to catch up with his old pals and strengthen their bond as friends. He wanted to stay up late to chat with Yixing, ask Kyungsoo about his hectic life as an actor, talk with Junmyeon about the latest trends in architecture (even if Jongdae couldn’t care less about any of that) or simple enjoy Jongin’s never ending stream of funny anecdotes gathered in his years as a model. But life is what it is, and what he has is a headache and the feeling of someone else’s lips on his. Weird.

By the time he turns off the tap, his head hurts a little bit less than before, but as he exits the room, drying his damp hair with a towel, he encounters Baekhyun draped across his bed, wearing the standard holiday resort approved white robe, mindlessly scrolling through his phone. 

“I thought that each of us had a room” Jongdae replies, resting on the bed.

“We do, but it’s fun bothering you” Baekhyun moves to stand in front of him, leaning until their faces are so close that they could probably kiss if they felt inclined to do so. Which, of course, is what happens. 

Again, it’s not the first time they kiss, but it’s always shocking. The way Baekhyun seems to know what to do and how to do it, licking past the seam of his lips and pressing further into Jongdae's waiting mouth. Baekhyun pushes insistently at his shoulder until he is laying on his back, crawling on top of him until their bodies are pressed flush against each other. The casual arousal pooling inside his belly is enough to make him feel sleepy but content. And yet, he has to push Baekhyun away. 

"Stop" he says, pushing him away slightly. Baekhyun pouts, but stops and retreats, sitting on top of Jongdae’s hips with the biggest and saddest puppy eyes the world has ever seen. Jongdae rolls his eyes but smiles anyways.

Jongdae doesn’t know what is happening, with Baekhyun, with himself. Why things are always like this when it comes to him. He doesn’t know why Minseok doesn’t react when he sees them kiss. It’s so weird, considering Minseok has kissed Jongdae too (first night of the vacation, too drunk, in the back of a club called “Tropicana”, he hissed when Jongdae bit his neck but moaned right after) and has been in Baekhyun’s room at least once since the holiday begun (Jongdae saw him walking out at 4am, sliding into his room without a shirt and with a big purple hickey right over the waistband of his sleeping shorts). 

They dance in circles, all three of them. Because yes, Baekhyun and Jongdae have been friends since they were kids, but had they always been only friends? Kissing each other to ‘test if they liked boys for real’ doesn’t seem as innocent in retrospective. And Minseok is no stranger to steal a kiss or two from both their mouths. 

Back in the day, things had been funny. Minseok was 18, Baekhyun and Jongdae were both 16, and the older had slipped bottles of alcohol to their parties and shared cigarettes with them until he became a fit and chic adult who couldn’t think of doing something unhealthy without feeling sick (unless it was getting drunk on a holiday, clearly).

It’s been more than ten years from those days and they keep dancing to a beat that no longer has meaning. The rhythm makes Jongdae go crazy. He is tired. When did all this shit got so complicated? It was so easy back then, to pretend, to feel nothing. Jongdae is 29 and he wants to sleep but he also wants to get wasted and forget about his troubles. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to go on holidays...

Outside he can hear Chanyeol screaming about his red hawaiian shirt (are all of them going to wear matching shirts?) and Minseok answers, screaming as well, that he hasn’t seen that hideous shirt of his -” _ an offense to fashion, a shame to all cool and chic people, not even Jongdae would wear that _ ” is precisely what he says but then again, semantics-

“I don’t want to go out” Jongdae breathes out, staring at the wooden fan that hangs from the thatched roof “Not now at least”

“We can stay and go with them later” Baekhyun says, moving until he is laying side by side with Jongdae, completely throwing out his expectation of what staying with him could entail “Chanyeol wanted to make a bonfire later. Apparently there is a fire pit down the beach”

“That... actually sounds really nice” Jongdae reasons. It’s been years since has experienced a bonfire, and having one by the beach is one of those things he always wanted after watching way too many movies that feature friends by the fire, enjoying the summer and the ocean sounds and booze, of course. 

“Then take a nap. I know your head has been hurting all day long” Baekhyun stands up and stretches, his robe slipping off his right shoulder. After assessing Jongdae with narrowed eyes and a chuckle, he turns around and heads to the door “I’ll wake you up later, don’t worry” He turns off the lights and Jongdae sighs, but does as he is told, closing his eyes and wishing for a dreamless nap. 

⊱ ───────── 《∘◦🔥◦∘》 ──────── ⊰

Jongdae wakes up to the sound of gentle whistling and fingers carding through his hair. When he looks up he is welcomed with the sight of Baekhyun absentmindedly petting him while he scrolls on his phone. He still feels dizzy with sleep, but he can clearly see the pretty black lace shirt Baekhyun is wearing, his hair styled up and some smudged black eyeshadow. 

“You look like a cheap hooker” Jongdae teases, yawning as he sits. 

“Hello to you too” Baekhyun smiles, pretty boxy smile full of light “and maybe I was going for the cheap hooker look, how can you know my taste in summer-holiday-island fashion?” 

“You are right” Jongdae says around a yawn as he sits on the bed, stretching like a freshly awoken cat “I don’t have the taste to be able to judge pretty people fashion”

In between makeup and sleazy clothes, Jongdae catches the slight blush that colors Baekhyun’s cheeks and finds pride and amusement in being the cause of it. 

Turning around to his bedside table, Jongdae remembers he is very much nude under the white robe and his junk is quite itchy, who could have known that towel-like material is not comfortable sleepwear? So he goes to stand up, checking his suitcase for some club appropriate wear. 

“Jongdae?” a small voice says, so small and trembling that would have judged foreign if he didn’t know Baekhyun as well as he does. 

Turning to face him Jongdae raises a questioning eyebrow, red shirt between his hands. He did not, however, expect to see Baekhyun wearing a pained and estranged expression that really doesn’t suit him, being a man with the personality of a thunder and the smile of a gentle god. 

“Have you ever thought about…” he gestures vaguely, cocking his head to the side “you know… the thing…?” Jongdae’s left eyebrow threatens to touch his hairline as he eyes Baekhyun with confusion “The thing between you and… you know, two…” the strange ambiance is shattered by the sound of SNSD’s Genie blasting from the phone sitting by Baekhyun’s hips. With a little sigh he picks it up. “Hyung? Yes, what? Still there? Ok, ok, yes, we’ll be there in ten. Ok, bye hyung!”

“Was it Minseok?” Jongdae asks, picking a pair of classically boring black briefs from his suitcase, glad that the weird conversation has been forgotten.

“Yep, he says they are still in the club and we have only one hour before the 2x1 cocktails are over” Baekhyun rounds the bed and playfully shoves Jongdae’s shoulder “It’s our last night out, don’t dress like a boring grandma” and Jongdae angrily fists his red shirt because it does look like a grandpa’s outfit. 

With Baekhyun’s boisterous laughter fading in the background as he exits the room, Jongdae is left to his devices to pick an outfit that doesn’t make him look like a dumbass who doesn’t take advantage of the fact he has a friend working in the fashion industry. 

With a Baekhyun-borrowed blue shirt, two buttons unbuttoned because the owner said it was boring otherwise, and a pair of black slacks, Jongdae is deemed ready to go out by his friend and, after properly locking the cabin, they head together to the club, walking in between torches set to illuminate the beach path. 

It’s such a clear and beautiful night that Jongdae, lost staring to the thousands of stars shining over their heads, almost misses the way Baekhyun slips his fingers in between Jongdae’s, holding his hand tightly. And for the rest of their walk, he pretends not to notice their hands tied together, nor the smile that embelishes Baekhyun's pretty face.

⊱ ───────── 《∘◦🔥◦∘》 ──────── ⊰

In the club, nothing is like Jongdae thought it would be.

In just one more night they’ll be gone, leaving paradise behind to return to their day to day jobs, walking in the busy streets of Seoul, meeting for coffee every two or three months, fuming about life and responsibilities. With all that in mind, he expected Minseok to do what he did nights ago, get drunk and get wild and dance with everyone he meets. He hoped Baekhyun wouldn’t need to get dragged by the elbows to his bed, busy flirting with strangers until the night turned into a blossoming day. 

Jongdae is surprised, pleasantly so, to have both of them at his side, casually drinking alcohol in a place that smell of sweat mixed with ocean salt and exotic fruits. Minseok is resting on his elbows, staring at the dancefloor with a bottle of beer on his right hand, bobbing his head to the tune of a song Jongdae doesn’t recognize. Baekhyun stands to his left, nestled between Minseok’s sturdy arms and Jongdae smaller frame, drinking a cocktail with an absent minded expression, fingers caressing Jongdae’s arms like he doesn’t notice what he is doing. 

Jongdae, Margarita in hand, knows what he is doing. Baekhyun never touches him unless he feels something about it, unless he wants something from him. Although, Jongdae is also smart enough and knows Baekhyun just right, seeing that there is some uncertainty in the way he slides his fingers up and down his forearm, slowing down at certain points, almost looking like he will retreat his hand altogether, but coming back to him. Jongdae feels a gentle tug inside his chest, especially when Minseok suddenly moves away from Baekhyun’s side to stand next to Jongdae, passing an arm above his shoulder. 

This are worst and best holidays ever. 

Sehun and Chanyeol are dancing together like always, playfully grinding in the centre of the room, pleasantly intoxicated with the club’s expensive drinks. Jongdae would smile if he weren’t so jealous, if he didn’t dream of doing just that with either of the men standing next to him. Sometimes thinks about doing it with both, caged in between them, and feels both ashamed and extremely aroused. And that is fucked up. 

“We should go out” Minseok exclaims, voice loud to be audible over the music “Didn’t Chanyeol want to make a bonfire?”

Baekhyun nods enthusiastically “Yeah, let’s go! I’ll go tell them!” and thus he scampers away to chase the tall couple, interrupting their dance-club-appropriate-dry-humping session. When he comes back is with a mix of disappointment and annoyance that he says “They are too horny to go the beach”

“Did they say that?” Jongdae asks, laughing.

Baekhyun raises his hand and shakes it horizontally “Kind of, Chanyeol said Sehun wanted to go to bed and I know those two well enough to know they just want to fuck like rabbits”

“Jesus Christ” Minseok downs his beer and smiles “then it’s just the three of us, like the good old times” 

‘ _Like the good old times_ ’ Jongdae thinks as they walk together under the bright moon, the sound of the waves gradually drowning the music that comes from the club until only the sea remains, conquering even the most uncomfortable of Jongdae’s thoughts. 

⊱ ───────── 《∘◦🔥◦∘》 ──────── ⊰

Jongdae’s mother always said that they were lucky, he and his two best friends, to still be together after such a long time. When Jongdae’s eyebrows asked for clarification she explained that most ‘golden trios’ don’t last past high school. Different careers and professions, new friends, relationships, they end up pushing them away from each other. 

Jongdae, 20 years old at the time, had panicked with a P larger than life itself. Up until that point he had been friends with Minseok and Baekhyun for roughly five years, losing them was his greatest fear. He was a first year accountant student, while Minseok worked hard for his engineering degree and Baekhyun fulfilled his dream of majoring in music production and music theory. Just the thought of losing them to their careers caused two mental breakdowns in the span of a single week.

When Minseok heard his struggle, a gentle pat on the back had been his first reaction as he laughed. Jongdae, equally angry and confused, had pushed him away, yet he listened all the same when Minseok, loud and clear asked him how many times in the past two months did he see Junmyeon? Jongdae answered twice. So Minseok asked how many times he had seen Yixing, then Jongin, then Kyungsoo and so on until he had named all eight of his closest friends. On average, he had seen them once in nearly two months. And yet every single one of them remained his friend.

‘What makes you think, then’ Minseok asked, sitting by his side with the most patient of tones illuminating his voice ‘that us three, who see each other once a week, will stop being friends any time soon?’

Nine years after that one big breakdown moment, sitting in the sand as Minseok sets ablaze some wood and Baekhyun hands him one of the beers from the six pack they bought on the way to the fire pit, Jongdae thinks that life has turned out just fine for the trio. They survived university, their respective first jobs, long distances and bad weather, how can they not survive the rest of their lives? 

However, it would be a lie to say he is calm and collected. He still feels a quiet storm raging inside his chest, set alight by every feathery touch of Baekhyun’s elegant fingers, stirred in slow fire by the glances Minseok steals when he thinks Jongdae is not paying attention.

The stars shine brightly above their heads, galaxies upon galaxies, a graveyard of light. Someone would look at such a scenery and think it’s poetic, jewels hung up in the heavens by some mythical being. Jongdae only sees a distraction to the thoughts that keep trying to smother his good judgement.

“Truth or dare!” Baekhyun yells out of nowhere, rising from his seat, to Jongdae’s right, and standing in front of the fire “Let’s pray truth or dare! Come one, it’s the perfect time for that!”

“And why is it the perfect time?” Minseok asks as Baekhyun plummets to the sand in front of them, careful to not stand too close to the flame. Although the cold ocean air makes Jongdae thankful that they started a fire.

“Well, just because!” Baekhyun smiles, resting a hand on one of Jongdae’s knees and the other on Minseok’s “Besides, it’s just us. We know each other’s secrets well, right?”

“Yeah, we do” Jongdae agrees “which is why playing truth or dare is dumb, what are we going to ask?”

“Well, I may have a secret or two” Jongdae turns to Minseok, who smiles with such glee that he finds it hard to not copy his expression out of sheer mirroring. 

“See? I am sure you and I have some stuff in the closet too” Baekhyun giggles.

“Ok, ok, let’s start” Jongdae says, shifting so he is closer to the other two, Minseok does the same 

“Hyung, truth or dare?” the mischief in Baekhyun’s eyes is not novel, but Jongdae still flinches, memories of dares going wrong years ago. 

“Hmmm” Minseok muses for a second, brushing his chin with his thumb and index finger “Truth”

“What was the last time you touched yourself?” he spits out, no filters as always. 

“Baekhyun!” Jongdae exclaims, but he is laughing nevertheless.

Minseok, blush on his cheeks but never a coward, says: “This afternoon”

“Wow, Horny Hyung. What turned you on? Did you hear me sneaking into Dae’s room?” Jongdae shoves Baekhyun’s shoulder, face burning from the shame. “Ok, ok, your turn. Dae or me”

“You. Truth or dare, Byun?” Baekhyun who never backs out of a challenge, chooses dare.

“Text your ex and tell her you miss her” and Baekhyun’s playful face switches for a second, smile faltering and blossoming back again in the blink of an eye. 

“Oh man, wish I could but she blocked me”

“What?” Jongdae’s eyebrows rise so fast that he thinks he might have lost them to his hairline “Baek, I’m sorry, I didn’t know that...” 

Baekhyun shrugs nonchalantly “Not that relevant of an info to be honest. I told her I didn’t want something super long term, she then called me insensitive and kicked me out of her apartment” another shrug and a long swig of beer “Honestly, it could have been worse. She knew things that even I didn’t even know. What I wanted, who I wanted, why I wanted them… It became way too weird” his eyes, his pretty puppy eyes, rise to meet his and Jongdae feels so many things at the same time. 

He places a hand on top of his shoulders, gently rubbing it in an act that he hopes expresses all his emotions. Minseok opens his mouth to say something but insteads downs his beer and stares at the ocean waves as they crash against the shore. If anything, Jongdae is astounded with his tolerance for alcohol and his lack of words in the face of something like Baekhyun had said. Did Minseok ever feel something like Jongdae felt whenever Baekhyun spoke about his lady lover? If he did, he never let it show. 

“Enough of this pity show!” Baekhyun says, standing up and making a place for himself between Jongdae and Minseok, squeezing both of their thighs in the process “Kim Jongdae, truth or dare?”

“Eh, dare I guess?” because hey, if he can cheer up Baekhyun by doing some stupid dare then he’ll do it. 

“Good, I dare you to kiss hyung”

“Which one?” Jongdae asks in lieu of letting know how panicked that makes him. Kissing Minseok, he can’t do that, not now...

“The grumpy cat next to me, dummy” Baekhyun playfully punches his arm, resting his head on Minseok’s shoulder “Come on, you both want it, I know you do”

Minseok stares at Jongdae, who is fucking puzzled to say the least. There is no denying that he does want to kiss Minseok, has kissed him before and wouldn’t hesitate it to do it all over again, but it has never happened in front of Baekhyun. It’s like kissing Baekhyun, always a private thing, until today when Minseok caught them in the act. But he didn’t say a thing.

If Baekhyun can see how badly he wants Minseok, how obvious is Jongdae to the world? Is he such a transparent creature?

“Come here” Minseok commands and like always, Jongdae complies, settling in the sand in front of his hyung. He brushes his face with gentle thumbs, softly caressing his high cheekbones with a soft smile tugging the corners of his lips. Then he dives forward, pressing their mouths together in such a harsh yet sweet way that Jongdae feels like he is being lifted from the ground, world spinning around him like an old record. 

When the kiss ends and they part, Jongdae opens his eyes and two sets of eyes are looking down at him, gentle yet ablaze, beautiful. Baekhyun is still leaning over Minseok’s shoulder, smiling like a fool in that endearing way only he knows how to do. 

“That’s better” he throws an arm over Minseok’s shoulders, pressing himself closer to him “Though I feel horny now”

“Baekhyun you are too drunk” Jongdae says, frantically paying attention to Baekhyun’s drunken state rather than the soft, overly fond expression Minseok is wearing. 

“Not really, I only had like… one crappy cocktail and this beer” he sighs then, looking at the sky “I’m just so tired…” Jongdae understands him the moment their eyes meet again and there is some regret and some hope nestled in between Baekhyun’s brown eyes, shining against the flames of a sunrise that’s about to bloom. 

“Of what?” Minseok, foolish Minseok, asks, as if the three of them don’t know the tale by heart.

“Of us, not like us as us, you know, but like us as in this eternal journey around the same topic...” Baekhyun sighs, voice strained, and Jongdae knows exactly what to do: extend his arm and place it on Baekhyun’s leg. The reaction is immediate, long fingers trail up and down his forearm, soothing both of them in the process “Neither of you liked my girlfriend, I know it” he shrugs “I don’t care, really, it’s just… It was so obvious” turning to Minseok he huffs out, frustrated “Hyung, Jongdae and I never attended an even if we knew Sohee would be there. We didn’t like her either. And Jongdae...” Baekhyun sighs deeply, hand enveloping Jongdae’s wrist “ Jongdae, I’ve never met a single partner of yours, like, not even one. You have had flings, I know that, but a boyfriend? a girlfriend? something that doesn’t last only a couple fucks? never once”

There are a long heartbeats of silence in between them and all Jongdae can hear is his own heart thumping, background music made of the crackling of the burning wood in the pit, the waves rolling over the sand, faint footsteps in the distance. 

“Forgive me for being un-fucking-filtered, I'm just so tired of never going anywhere. We are dancing in a burning room with water in our hands”

Minseok turns to him, a hand rubbing circles over his clothed back. 

“Baekhyunee, how long have you been carrying this burden, knowing both of your friends were as equally dumbass as you?” Baekhyun snorts, but he still avoids meeting their eyes. Jongdae’s heart squeezes painfully. 

“Baek” he starts, gently squeezing Baekhyun’s hand “I’m sorry you feel like this… you are not wrong about anything you said, though. I did not like your girlfriend nor Minseok’s, but I’m not sorry for that. I was jealous of them, of what they had. Having a partner for me felt selfish, I… I never wanted to use someone when all I would be able to do is compare this person with the two people I care about the most”

“Honest to God who watches over our dumb empty heads, I think we have been wasting a lot of time”

“Did you just realize that or-?” Baekhyun asks, tears peeking out of the corner of his eyes. Minseok laughs, pressing him closer to his body. And they hold each other tightly, all without taking their eyes from Jongdae. And he knows, he just knows, this is the now or never to say the words he has been choking with for a decade if not longer. 

“I think I love you. Both, undividedly, even if that sounds weird in this scenario…” his voice is low, barely audible, but it reaches the men in front of him perfectly as they react on cue, hands dragging Jongdae towards them, arms enveloping his lithe body. 

“We love you too, Dae” Minseok says, for the first time in forever using his nickname and that is enough to make a man want to cuddle by the fire until the sunrise blossoms. 

  
  
⊱ ───────── 《∘◦🔥◦∘》 ──────── ⊰

The summer sun is slowly rising, the earth preens under the colours of the dawn. Calm orange, pastel pink, fiery red, mellow yellow, a beautiful palette. 

An artist would see a painting in the way the sun rises from the ever changing sea, in the waves slowly receding over the beach as the sky changes colors. He wouldn't be wrong, nature is the finest portrait mankind has. 

Jongdae only sees a new dawn, literally and figuratively, as he and his two drunk best friends (lovers, he corrects, the taste of both of their lips safe inside his mouth and his mind) walk back to their cabin, ready for a last day of summer vacations that will be spent in bed. Not sleeping to instead find the love you have been missing is fun and games until Baekhyun trips mid-yawn and drags with him both men holding him. 

Kim Jongdae comes back home with four bruises, one on each knee and matching purple blotches on each side of his neck. He is proud of all of them, even if the ones on his neck are hard to hide under his work suit. 

⊱ ───────── 《∘◦🔥◦∘》 ──────── ⊰

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!  
> kudos and comments are always appreciated <3


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